Above and Beyond the Call of Duty
by nanayoung
Summary: What if Ben wanted to test the recruits on more than just team work? What if Grandpa Max wasn't there to stop him from going to far. What would be Ben's and the new recruits take on the events of "Above and Beyond"?


_**Disclaimer: Even though I would give the lives of my entire extended family plus my own soul for the chance to own the Ben 10 franchise, I'm afraid that at this current point I do not. **_

_**This is a little incomplete slightly AU one-shot I made based on the Ben 10: Alien Force episode "Above and Beyond". For now, it'll stay a one shot, unless people love it enough for me to continue. For now, please enjoy. **_

**Above and Beyond the Call of Duty **

Ben watched them as **ChamAlien** while they argued with one another. He was hidden out of sight underneath the computer's console, his skin blending in with the wall and floor. It would have made him almost completely invisible if not for his shadow. It was unlikely that they would find out he was here watching them, but he still felt uncomfortable being so out in the open like this. Any one of the new recruits could look underneath and spot his out of place shadow or hear his breathing. Then this stupid test would be over before it started.

Times like these that he really wished he could use **Ghostfreak** again. Zs'Skayr taking over aside, it _was_ one of his favorite forms.

The console above him started beeping, snapping him out of his thoughts. He almost blew his cover when Helen blurred towards him, and let out a small sigh of relief when she started talking about the recorded message Grandpa made. The sound of Grandpa's voice talking about the cargo-hold was all he needed to know that it was time for him to leave, and he slowly started to crawl out from under the terminal. None of the recruits noticed him as he weaved around them, not even when he accidentally bumped up against Manny, nor when the door opened and shut as he sneaked out of the control room. They were too busy listening to Grandpa's message to notice what was happening right behind their backs.

Ben shook his head as he was engulfed in a green light, turning himself back into a human. They had potential, he could admit, but they still needed a lot of work if they wanted to make it as Plumbers. Most aliens and enemies wouldn't make themselves known to them, and they needed to be prepared for the possibility. God only knows how many times he'd been on the other side of a sneak attack. Had he never had the Omnitrix, he would have been dead a _long_ time ago from the assassins alone.

He walked down the ship's hallways at a leisurely pace, making sure to keep his footsteps quiet as he went over his thoughts on the recruits. Now if **Brainstorm** was right, the only one who would probably listen to Grandpa's advice would be Pierce. He was the leader, and therefore the one in charge. And as the one in charge, he would recognize that in a situation they knew little of and facing a enemy that could be stronger than them, they needed to stick together. As such, he would be the only one to recognize the seriousness of the situation and try to keep everyone together. This attempt would most-likely fail, as Manny was too much of a hothead to listen to orders and Helen would be too impatient to wait for the others. Alan would probably stay with with the others though, as he would be too timid to strike out on his own.

Helen would be the first to leave after Grandpa's message, as she is the fastest and unwilling to wait for the others to catch up. She would head directly to the cargo-hold where she would assume Grandpa would be, not bothering to take anyone else as that would slow her down. She wasn't the sneaky type, so **Brainstorm** theorized that she would make herself known as soon as she reached the hold. She was also a caring person, so she would be more preoccupied for his Grandpa's safety than the idea that she would be ambushed. So by the time the others would catch up to her, he should already be done and ready to move on to test the next recruit.

Ben reached the cargo-hold and – hiding behind some steel boxes – waited to see if **Brainstorm's **predictions were right.

"Max? It's Helen. We got your message."

Ben's eyes flicked to the cargo-hold's entrance. She was all alone, not a teammate in sight. Score one for the crab-like alien.

He watched her from behind the boxes as she called out for his grandfather. While her back was turned he quickly darted from his hiding spot, managing to reach the other side of the room and hide behind some more boxes before she whirled around. The hang lights shook gently, flickering on and off, the only sign that he had been there. He observed her from his new hiding spot as she turned around and started checking from side to side, looking for Grandpa. She tensed slightly, before she rolled forward a few feet, checking behind cargo boxes and coming _very_ close to where he stood. He slowed his breathing.

"Max? You can come out. I'm here. It's safe."

She sounded so concerned, so worried. For a brief moment he felt guilty. He knew he shouldn't have agreed to this. When Grandpa and the rest of the Magisters first brought this idea to him, he should have said no. It wasn't right to trick them like this. To make them think that they weren't safe from their own friends. They may never trust him or the Plumbers again when they found out about this stunt.

But then his logical side came in and he knew that he'd have to go through with it. They needed the practice, they needed to know that going off by themselves without a plan could get them killed out there. When they were on a mission, the only ones they could depend on for help were each other. Anyone else, and they could be risking betrayal or imprisonment. They couldn't afford to give into their own egos and fight amongst one another. They needed to have a wake up call _now_, when everything was controlled and they weren't in true danger. After all, better with him in a controlled environment than out there with some sociopath and lives on the line. Better that they hate him and stay alive than like him and be dead one day.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Helen call out for Grandpa again. "Max you have nothing to worry about. It's safe; me, Manny, Alan, and Pierce are here."

She was so close he could actually see the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. She was rolling up towards his hiding spot, cautiously turning her head side to side, looking around corners and yet somehow not noticing him as he stood _right there_, with only a few steel boxes in the way of discovery. She was tense, _very_ tense, and he knew that at the slightest noise she would react.

She was facing away from him when he gave the steel boxes a hard shove, causing them to tumble down towards her. She flashed out of the way just in time, and he used the distraction to run to the side, out of sight. He hid in the shadows as he used his Omnitrix to turn the lights off one by one, engulfing the hold in darkness. Her eyes seemed to glow in the dark, and he watched her back up slowly, her head swiveling side to side. Her bright green eyes narrowed in preparation, what little traces of fear she had before were now gone in the face of her determination, and he smiled. _Showtime._

"Oh, it's not safe." He slowly walked up to her and she whipped her head towards him, her eyes widening in surprise. He turned the dial on the Omnitrix, allowing his face to be illuminated by the glowing green light. "Not for Grandpa Max. _And not for you_."

She tensed, but before she could react he already activated the Omnitrix and changed. He felt himself become smaller and more compact, his eyes closing to slits, his lungs widening in his small body as he transformed into **Echo Echo**. He quickly split himself into six and let loose with a symphony of high pitched sound, aimed directly at Helen's sensitive Kineceleran ears. The resulting sound wave rebounded off the enclosed space causing the already high pitched noise to echo and rise in intensity. She was lifted her off her feet and slammed into the steel boxes ten feet away, making a dent in the steel behind her.

Helen groaned in slight pain and slumped to the ground, boxes tumbling around her. She was dazed, still trying to make sense of the situation. She didn't even bother to attack, instead choosing to question him on his actions. "Ben! It's me, Helen! What's wrong with you?"

He didn't answer, instead letting loose with another blast of sound. She was prepared this time, and managed to dodge out of the way using her speed, running in a zig-zagged line towards one of his duplicates. Before he could blink she managed to take out three and was heading straight towards him. He thought fast, and just before she managed to kick him out of the way he jumped up and latched on to her shoulder. She whipped around the room, trying to get him to let her go and he screeched in her ear in response. She cried out in pain, tripping over herself, and he mentally winced. He hoped he hadn't ruptured her eardrums.

His duplicates, sensing the advantage, moved as one and began to dog-pile her, each latching on to a limb so she couldn't escape. While she was strong, she wasn't strong enough to rip all of them off her, leaving her to uselessly twist around on the ground. They were still having a bit of trouble of keeping hold of her though; her twisting and struggling almost sending some of his duplicates across the room. One particular overzealous duplicate made as if to break one of her legs, but stopped once Ben sent him a mental command from where he was clinging from Helen's shoulders as she whipped from side to side.

_No. Need. To. Go. Too. Far_. _We. Just. Need. To. Knock. Her. Out. Not. Send. Her. To. The. Hospital. _

At another mental command, one of his duplicates took his place holding her neck and he jumped up, flipping to land right in front of her. He duplicated himself into eight **Echos **and mentally commanded his duplicates to surround her in a wide circle. Helen was too busy wrestling with the duplicates who were holding her down to notice, rolling around on the ground and tugging at the one on her neck.

He made a note to make sure she got some hand to hand training in the future. She needed to rely on more than just her speed if she was going to be a Plumber.

By the time she _did_ notice that she was surrounded, he and his duplicates had already blasted her with a wave of high pitched noise from all directions. Her body shook, but she was held in place by the wave holding her up even as she was being beaten from all sides. The **Echos** holding her down started to join in and as she started shaking from exertion, he commanded his **Echos** to rise in pitch, hoping to knock her out. To her credit, she managed to last a good minute before she screamed and collapsed. His duplicates stopped the assault almost immediately afterward, and they all watched as her body twitched and shivered before going still. Ben sent one of his duplicates to check her vitals and, upon confirmation that she was unconscious, absorbed all his duplicates and transformed back into a human.

He stared at her for a few seconds before turning and walking away, hands in his pockets. By the time the rest of the recruits managed to reach her, he was already gone.

_**LINEBREAK**_

She awoke to the feeling of someone shaking her shoulder. Her head, which felt as if someone had hit it repeatedly with a sledgehammer, only got worse the more she was shook. She must have said something, because the hand that shook her was immediately taken away and replaced with noise. Someone was saying something. If she could only...

"..."

"...n"

"...en"

"...elen"

"Helen!"

Her eyes snapped open, and she quickly sat up, only to immediately regret it when her headache worsened. She cradled her head in her hands, involuntarily letting out a small whine. She felt a hard hand pat her shoulder and she looked up through watery eyes to see Manny's concerned face staring straight at her. Alan and Pierce hovered around her, steadying her when she rose to her feet.

"Helen, are you okay?"

Her head felt as if it were split open and she could barely see through her tears. No, she was not okay, but she wasn't going to tell them that. Things were already bad as they were, she didn't need them wasting time fussing over her.

She gave Alan a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry guys, it's just a headache." She rubbed her head, and almost moaned in relief as her alien biology started to heal her. Her head was starting to clear up and her hearing was slowly coming back to normal.

Manny got straight to the point. "What happened?"

"I –" She didn't know. What _had_ happened? She may have not known Ben all that long, but even she knew that this was widely out of character for him. Attacking his grandfather, taking control of a Plumber ship, hurting his friends. What was he _doing_? Was he being brainwashed? Did someone take control of him? Was he being forced into this?

Helen's heart clenched at the thought. She knew what being forced into doing something you didn't want to felt like. The rest of her team may not remember anything about their time with Servantis, but she still remembered some of the things he made her do. And what she did remember horrified her. She hurt so many people while under that _bastard's_ control. Did so many bad things while she was unable to stop herself. He took everything from her; her dignity, her self respect, her morals, her _humanity_. To be controlled like that... she wouldn't wish that on her worst enemy, let alone the person who helped her get away from Servantis' clutches.

Someone had to be controlling him, making him do all of these terrible things. Ben _loved_ his grandfather, was willing to do anything for the man. Helen had never even seen Ben yell at Max before, let alone try to kill him. There was no other explanation for it; he had to be controlled somehow.

And yet...

It just didn't make _sense_. Ben was the holder of one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. With the Omnitrix permanently stuck to his wrist, it would only make sense for someone to try to control him instead. With Ben at their disposal, whoever was controlling him had access to all sorts of influence and power. And yet, instead of trying to take over the world or infiltrating the Plumbers, he's fighting Plumber recruits? Max she could understand; he's one of the highest ranking Magisters in the entirety of the Plumber organization. Of course someone would want to take him out, if only for revenge. But her, Manny, Pierce, and Alan? Other than unwillingly serving Servantis for years, they really hadn't done much. Their parents were Plumbers, but weren't especially notable like Max or Ben. They were just like any other group of alien recruits so why attack them specifically? Why stick around to fight?

Did the controller was to get rid of witnesses? Leave no evidence of his crime? If so, then why did Ben leave her alive? She'd been at his mercy, unable to defend herself and yet he didn't finish the job. She knew what Ben could do; the amount of destruction he could cause was on a catastrophic level. He was his own force of nature, destroying any who get in his way. And yet, all she had was a slight ringing headache. He could have killed her at any time and yet he didn't. Why?

Was there something she was missing?

"It was Ben. Something – somethings _wrong_ with him, he's –"

"He's _toast_!" Manny clenched a fist. "Which way did he go? I owe him a _beatin'_."

Helen frowned, and she stood up. She needed to get to the bottom of this. "I didn't see, but he couldn't have gotten far."

She and Manny made as if to go down a hallway when they were interrupted by Pierce.

"Wait! Max said we should stick together."

Helen turned back to look at him and Alan, Manny by her side. "Manny and I work better as a team. We'll find Ben, you find Max."

With that, she turned and dashed down the metal hallway, Manny falling back behind her. She didn't bother slowing down for him; she was too impatient and there wasn't enough time. She needed to find what was wrong with Ben and stop it before he did something he would regret.

_**LINEBREAK**_

Manny and Helen, after she gained a few minutes of recovery, had split up from the team in order to find him while Alan and Pierce tried to find Grandpa Max. Alan had come up with the idea to use their Plumber's badges in order to track Grandpa, and now they were following his signal to the power room. And while the plan was smart of them and was making good use of their resources, it never occurred to them that _Ben_ could track them and Grandpa the same way using his Omnitrix. Which was why Ben was following Alan and Pierce as **Goop** as they traveled through the hallways.

He made sure to keep a few yards back from them in order to observe. They were silent for the most part as they tracked Grandpa's badge, the steady beeping of the locator being the only sound in the steel halls. Alan was looking from side to side, almost catching Ben more than once as he trailed after them. He knew that Alan was become more and more nervous as time went on and they came closer and closer to where Ben left Grandpa's badge. Out of all of the new recruits, it was Alan that Ben was worried about the most. While the rest of the hybrids depended mostly on themselves, preferring to solve their own problems, Alan depended mostly on others for reassurance and help. He couldn't seem to handle things on his own, and needed others to be there for him. Teamwork wasn't a problem for him; being self dependent was.

As the two recruits came closer and closer to the main engine room, the beeping only got louder and louder. Ben bunched himself up in a shadowed corner and watched Pierce as he began to slow down. "There's some weird interference, but we seem to be getting close."

While he was distracted, Ben made his move, flashing past Alan while his back was turned.

Alan whipped around. "What was that?!"

Pierce didn't bother looking behind him, his eyes only on the device in front of him. "I said we're getting close." He absently stepped through the open entryway, not paying attention to his surroundings as Ben used his Omnitrix to shut the door behind him, cutting him off from Alan.

Alan's voice called out from the other side of the door. "Pierce? Did you just ditch me?"

Ben slithered past the hybrid as he whipped around and pounded on the door, yelling out at Alan on the other side. Out of all of the recruits, it was Pierce who needed a lesson on observing his surroundings the most. If he wanted to be an effective leader, he needed to be aware of his environment at all times.

He headed for the engine room, making sure to travel at a fast pace in order to keep ahead of Pierce. Upon squeezing past the engine room doors, Ben slithered upwards onto one of the thirty foot energy bolts and picked up his Grandpa's Plumber badge using his tentacles. The recruits didn't know that Grandpa had left the ship as soon as they received the message for help. There was an important diplomatic meeting being held at the other side of the Milky way that was very important apparently. It was all very last minute and Grandpa didn't say much about it, only that it had to do with a marriage proposal, a missing prince, and a possible war. Ben wasn't paying attention at the time.

Ben flicked the badge into the air before catching it in a makeshift green palm, face side up. Grandpa trusted that he would be able to handle the situation while he was gone and he wouldn't let him down. He wanted them to be able to learn the value of teamwork and cooperation. And they would. He would make sure of it.

It _was_ going to be a while before Grandpa made it back, though. He watched from above as Pierce started to cautiously enter the engine room. Maybe he had time to teach them something else? Pierce still hadn't noticed him, and he really needed to learn how to be more aware of his surroundings.

"Hey!" he called out, catching Pierce's attention. He transformed back into a human and raised Grandpa's badge mockingly in his sludge like hand. "Looking for this?"

Pierce looked shocked. He stared at the badge for a second, before taking a single step back. Then another and another, until he was sprinting straight towards the open door. Ben let him run for a bit, before activating his Omnitrix. A single button and the doors slid shut. A twist of the dial and Ben transformed into **Snare-Oh**. Pierce barely managed to turn around before Ben launched himself at him.


End file.
